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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · mark · wind · straw · swing · march · spring · chip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — a container
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mark — a trace
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spring — the season
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. swing — music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com